Sportsflics, anyone?

So, you thought I had shown all the Padres cards I had found at the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show. I'm not quite sure why, but between the nickel box and the 25-cards/$1 box, there's one more group of cards I'd like to feature.

Can you say Sportsflics?

Since Sportsflics are always hard to scan, I've also included a scan of the card backs below. These 1994 Sportsflics Rookie/Traded cards include (top row) 1B Tim Hyers, SS Ray Holbert and P Donnie Elliott. (Second row) 1B Dave Staton, 3B Keith Lockhart and 2B Luis Lopez.

It was Topps who first introduced lenticular printing, where a small, ribbed, plastic lens is used to produce images with the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. It wasn't long before it found its way onto their 12-card, 1968 Topps 3-D set. Kellogg's also used this process, unleashing its own 3-D sets in your boxes of Corn Flakes during the 70's and 80s.

In 1986, the baseball card distribution world got just a little bit more crowded, as Sportflics became the fourth fully licensed card producer. Their intitial 200-card set was developed by Optigraphics, the Texas-based printing company who had earlier produced Kellogg's 3D cards.

1994 Sportsflics LF Phil Plantier, 2B Luis Lopez and a 1995 Sportsflix P Andy Benes.

Of course, Upper Deck had to get into the act as well, partnering with Denny's Restaurant to produce a 26-card Denny's Grand Slam set. The set, which included one player from each of the MLB teams, was given out with each purchase of a Denny's grand slam meal. Pinnacle took over the Denny's set in 1996, releasing its final Denny's set in 1997.

At the time they came out, these 3-D sports cards were pretty cool. I thought it introduced a rather unique innovation during a period when baseball cards had that "mass-produced" feel to them. The main drawback that I can remember about the cards at that time, were the price - about 75 cents for a three-card pack. Actually, that's quite laughable in this day and age of "Premium Products.

You can see this technology continuing to be used in today's cardboard offerings.

In fact, you only need to look as far as the 2014 Opening Day set. This card, the 2014 Topps Opening Day Stars Giancarlo Stanton, uses that same 3-D technology, as part of its 26-card subset.

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 3

Here's the final installment of my foray into the nickel (and 25/$1) boxes at the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show.

I found a nice batch of Padres rookies cards, including this 2007 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Mitch Canham, 1998 Bowman 1999 ROY Favorites Matt Clement, 1995 Gold Leaf Rookies Ray McDavid and 1997 Bowman 1998 ROY Favorites Juan Melo. Of this group, only Clement played at the MLB level for San Diego. McDavid and Melo spent six years in the Padres minor leagues, while Canham spent four. 

Canham was a tragic player for the Padres. After his mother died of a drug overdose in 2003, his younger brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham, died while serving in the African nation of Djibouti. Multiple investigations determined  Dustin, 21, died of natural causes while exercising in his tent.

My Trevor Hoffman collection got a nice boost with these cards - 1996 Finest, 1996 Topps Gallery, 2008 UD A Piece of History and 2002 Topps Gold Label Class 1. How can you go wrong with Trevor cards? It'll be interesting to see what impact he'll have on the pitchers in the Padres minor league system.

Ever find cards you were sure you already had in your collection, but turned out you didn't? That was the case with the following cards, a 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Future Stars FS14 Mat Latos,1995 Select Certified Roberto Petagine, 2002 Bowman Sean Burroughs and a 2002 Bowman Gold Xavier Nady.

And finally, a 1996 Emotion-XL Fernando Valenzuela, 2004 Ultra Khalil Greene and 1997 Pinnacle X-Press Andy Ashby. It's hard imagining Valenzuela as a Padres pitcher. However, during his three-year stint in San Diego, "El Toro" compiled a 23-19 record in 328.1 innings.

 

There's no show in April, so I'll now have to wait until May 18 for the next Urbandale show. I guess I'll just have to haunt my local brick-and-mortar stores until then.

 

 

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 2

Yesterday was Panini Day, as I posted up some of the San Diego Padres cards I found during the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show. In this post, I'm going to feature a look at what I consider are some of the better cards of the past few years (or in some cases, decades).

I'll begin with these 2003 Donruss Diamond Kings, in order, Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko and Sean Burroughs. As you know, Panini has resurrected the Donruss card sets, but as I noted yesterday, I feel their rather lackluster attempt lacks all the warmth and personality the former Donruss line possessed. These Diamond King cards were cool, featuring painted renderings of MLB players, with a pseudo-canvas weave on the cards. Panini's 2014 Donruss also features Donruss Diamond Kings, but they are only player photos, with an inset action photo. Again, all the warmth and personality of this line is gone. 

What is there not to like about Stadium Club? Large, action photos? Check. Bordlerless pictures? Check. Bright, glossy fronts? Check. Foil Name plates? Roger (blue, in this case). Baseball stitching embossed onto the card? You betcha! Here's the 1998 Stadium Club cards for Trevor Hoffman, Steve Finley and Wally Joyner. I also included a 1999 Stadium Club Wally Joyner I found. Really, really nice cards!

 

When it comes to bright and shiny cards, I'm like a dog distracted by a squirrel. My scanner doesn't do these 1995 Leaf cards justice, with Steve Finley, Andy Benes and Bip Roberts, but the Padres foil label just pops off the card, as does the diamond-shaped head shot of each player. On the bottom row are 1994 Leaf Limited Bip Roberts and Phil Nevin. These cards also pop with their own silver foil highlights. Other than Panini Prizm, no one does really nice foil products anymore.

These 1995 Select Andy Benes, Joey Hamilton, Andujar Cedeno and Roberto Petagine are also very clean cards that are nicely done. Borders are nice on cards, but if they're done right like these cards, borderless cardboard can really highlight the card's photo and name plate. I really like the inset player pictures on these cards. As noted on the card, Petagine and Cedeno were traded to San Diego from Houston on Dec. 18, 1994. That trade also sent Ken Camniti, Steve Finley and Brian Williams  to San Diego with Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutierrez, Pedro Martinez, Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley shipping to Houston. The Padres also received minor-leaguer Sean Fresh in may 1995 to complete the trade.

 

And finally, here's a 2001 Fleer Premium Ruben Rivera, and 2002 Fleer Premium Ray Lankford, Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko. While the Rivera card sports a foil picture and name plate,  the 2002 cards only have foil on the name and team plates, the black and white borders and the pegged, border-within-a-border, work nicely together to further accentuate the photo.

 

Stay tuned next time for the final installment of the March Urbandale American Legion card show.

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 1

Ok, I know I've been teasing everyone about last weekends card show, so now's the time to put up or shut up, right?

The pickings were generally ripe, as I found the majority of this month's cards at a table with six, 5-cent card boxes (which also included some hockey). When I was finally able to pull myself away from his table, I found yet another nickel box. However, this one featured 25-cards for $1. Three hours after first arriving at the card show, I finally pushed myself away from the tables and made my way home.

While I found a plethora of Padres cards, the other great news is I also found a whole mess of traders, so some of my blogging brethren shouldn't be too surprised to see a package in their mailbox in the next few weeks.

Today, I'll begin with some 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition cards. Most collectors have a love/hate relationship with Panini, due to its A) Lack of a MLB license; B) Air-brushing of uniforms; or C) Lack of logos (you check in the box). As for me, other than Panini Prizm, I'm not a huge Panini fan. I feel, this "Donruss" set is about as far removed from the original Donruss cards as you can go.

But yet, What can I say? They are after all Padres, so they have a warm place within my collection. Other than the Donruss Packs I opened last week out of curiousity, I sincerely doubt I'll be buying any Panini packs - I'll just be buying the occasional Padre as I come across them.

I also found some 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition cards of Connor Powers, Zach Cates, Edinson Rincon and Jonathan Galvez. While picturing them in their college uniforms is one way to get around MLB logos, would you be able to tell they were Padres without "San Diego" at the bottom? Of these four, Connors played at Lake Elsinore last season; Cates, a third round 2010 pick, was traded to the Cubs along with Anthony Rizzo; Rincon is now with the Royals and Galvez pitched at Tucson last season.

 

From the 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set, I found James Darnell, Beamer Weems, Sawyer Carroll, Jeudy Valdez and  Blake Tekotte. Of this group, only Weems and Carroll played with the AAA Pads - Darnell is with the Rays, Valez is a Cub and Tekotte is a White Stocking.

 

And the final scans for this particular post, include 2013 Hometown Heroes cards of San Diego studs -- Tony Gwynn, Huston Street (probably the lone exception here), Jake Peavy and Garry Templeton.

 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my latest card show foray.

A couple of recent packages and thank yous

I know I've been rather remiss in posting all the goodies I got recently at the Urbandale American Legion card show. However, both of you are going to have to wait a wee bit longer for me to finish getting them organized so I can post them.

 

In the meantime, here's a couple of packages I've found in the mail the past week or so.

 

The first package on display, was from Greg, over at Waiting 'til Next Year. He said he sent the following three cards as "Just an attempt to even the score a bit." Totally unnecessary, by the way, but very much appreciated.

 

Greg's package contained three very nice colorful Topps cards -- a 2014 Topps Target Red Border Tyson Ross and Reymond Fuentes, as well as a 2014 Topps Wal Mart Blue Border Robbie Erlin.

 

My other package was from Greg, over at Night Owl Cards. "Don't know if these random Pads are of any use, but jut wanted to say, 'Thanks.'"

 

Oh yeah, I was able to stash more than a few of those cards into my Padres collection. Cards such as these 1983 Fleer Juan Bonilla and Floyd Chiffer, and a pair of 2002 Upper Deck MVP D'Angelo Jiminez and Ben Howard cards.

 

Who doesn't like a nice, shiney 2013 Topps Chrome Yonder Alonso, or a 1992 MooTown Snackers Fred McGriff. This is the first time I've seen these Mootown Snackers cards, and I have to admit I like them. Produced as a 24-card standard-size set by MSA (Michael Schechter Associates) for MooTown Snackers, they were actually inserted inside cheese snacks. While there was a mail-in offer to get the complete set, it's reported that cards with mail-in tabs are worth more than those without. Fred McGriff was the only Padres player to represent in this set.

 

Ok. Enough with the excuses. I promise, my next post will be all the goodies from the card show.

 

Really. I promise!

A tale of four packs - Donruss, Heritage and Opening Day

Oh man, has this past weekend morphed into one crazy week.

On Sunday (once I got the date correct), I got some great cards at the Urbandale American Legion Sports Card Show (I'm saving those for another upcoming blog). Later that afternoon, the Iowa Wild hockey team recognized me as "Hero of the Game" during Sunday's 2-1 win over San Antonio. That's where they take a moment to recognize a member of the military during the game.

Monday proved to be a long day, as I hooked up with my bagpipe band. After a traditional Bloody Mary breakfast, we marched in Des Moines' St. Patrick's Day parade, and played at the downtown Marriott hotel. We then settled into the Royal Mile British Pub, where we had a couple more drinks and played a few more songs. Our evening concluded around 8:30 p.m., after playing at Dublin Bay restaurant in Ames. That's me in the middle with the bass drum.

 

When I fianlly got home, my wife informed me our washer had died after 16 years of faithful service as she was trying to get the laundry done.

So tonight, while we were pricing washers and dryers, we swung by Target to pick up a couple of birthday cards. While my wife shopped for the birthday cards, I decided to do a little card shopping of my own, picking up a 7-card pack of Topps Opening Day, a pair of 8-card packs of Donruss and a 20-card Jumbo pack of Topps Heritage.

What's funny, is the pack I expected the least from provided the biggest bang for my buck (or in this case 99 cents). For that price, I have to admit I was a bit impressed with what I pulled (not that it takes much, actually).

In the Topps Opening Day pack was a Michael Cuddyer Blue Foil S/N 1016/2014 (38), a 3-D Topps Opening Day Stars Giancarlo Stanton (ODS23), a Matt Davidson RC (174) and Travis D'Arnaud RC (214). I also got a Albert Pujols (66),  Sean Doolittle (167), Evan Longoria (198).

In the two packs of Donruss, I manged to scrape together three "decent" cards. First and foremost is a Padre player who's making quite an impact this Spring -- Tommy Medica Rated Rookie (45), as well as a Rickey Henderson Donruss Stat Line Season (187) S/N 82/130 and a Donruss Breakout Hitters Manny Machado (14).

I am not at all impressed with the 2014 Donruss. Besides the airbrushed logos and uniforms, the cards are too glossy and retain none of the charm and coolness of its '80s predecessor. Among the other cards I pulled were Alex Gordon (47), Allen Craig (48), Brandon Phillips (64), Paul Konerko (73), Craig Kimbrel (77), Paul Goldschmidt (127), Eric Hosmer (131), Giancarlo Stanton (132), Marlon Byrd (151), Kyle Lohse (169), Aramis Ramirez (174), Osborne Smith (189), and Pete Rose (192) (Really?).

The only memorable card I pulled from the Topps Heritage pack was a Red Border Jared Weaver (140). Other cards I pulled included 2013 American League Batting Leaders (1), Brett Wallace (45), Francisco Liriano (73), Jenrry Mejia (93). Daniel Hudson (105), Lance Berkman (113), Mike Leake (128), 2013 World Series Game 5 (136), Juan Pierre (146), Ryan Ludwick (173), Jason Vargas (209), Doug Fister (214), Junior Lake (220), Jonathan Lucroy (263), Ryann Howard (290), Jhonny Peralta (288), Munenori Kawasaki (312), Kyuji Fujikawa (348), and Flashbacks Juan Marichal (JM).

I'm not sure how I feel about the 2014 Heritage set yet. On first glance, the design appears to be rather cool, with some nice-sized photos and the unique pennant team logo, but I'm not quite sure whether I really like them or not. Maybe if I bust a couple more packs, I can let you know what I really think.

How do you solve a problem like Tommy?

"She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee
Her dress has got a tear
She waltzes on her way to Mass
And whistles on the stair...
 
"How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!"
                                          "How do you solve a problem like Maria"
                                          from "Sound of Music"

While it's not a bad problem to have, apparently the San Diego Padres have found themselves dealing with pretty much the same issue...

How do you solve a problem like Tommy Medica?

All he's done so far this spring is bat .410 (1st on the team), score 6 runs (1st), drive in another 6 (3rd), and hit three homers (3rd). To say the lad is hot, is an understatement.

The problem the Padres now face, is where do you put this hot, young player, defensively? He's been a catcher, a first baseman, left fielder and right fielder. The Pads have plenty of catchers right now, with Yasmani Grandal coming back, and the outfield is pretty clogged as well, with any number of platoon situations involving Kyle Blanks, Chris Denorfia, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, and Will Venable. Lefty Seth Smith may be the player who's least likely to platoon.

A 14th-round Padres pick in 2010, the 25-year old Medica is flashing that raw talent the San Diego scouting staff projected for this young Californian.

As a Santa Clara Bronco, he won the West Coast Conference batting title as a freshman. Despite tearing the labrium in his throwing arm during his junior year (which moved him from behind the plate to the corner outfield positions), Medica was named to the first-team All-WCC, as well as an All-American third-teamer by Collegiate Baseball.

Like former Padre catcher John "Flash" Flaherty, Medica played for the Cape Cod League's Harwich Mariners (2008). The Mariners went on to win the league title that year and Medica was named to the All-League team.

He's even played on the international level, having played for the U.S. National Baseball team in 2007, competing in the Pan American Games (finishing second, losing 3-1 to Cuba in the finals) and the World Port Tournament (third place).

Last year, at AA San Antonio, Medica hit .296 with 18 homers. He was a September call-up and hit a homer against the Phillies in his first MLB game, all while playing first base.

Between you and me, I'd like to see him stick with the MLB club once Spring Training ends. However, I'm not entirely sure if he's the real deal yet, or how long he can keep up this torrid pace. at the very least, I can see him being dropped to AAA El Paso and being one of the first call-ups if there's yet another outfield injury.

In the meantime, the Padres find themselves with a rather pleasant dilemma.

Urbandale Card Show, denied!

For whatever reason, I was thinking today was the monthly Urbandale American Legion card show. I was totally stoked for it and had a whole shopping list of cards I was hoping to find for some of my fellow bloggers.

However, I guess they weren't kidding when they say we're supposed to "Spring forward." I discovered this once I drove by the Legion and there were no cars in the parking light and the "Card Show Today" sign wasn't posted up front. It turns out the card show isn't actually until next Sunday.

Bummer.

It wasn't a total loss, however, as I received another package of goodies in the mail Saturday, thanks to those Iowa Energy shorts. I was once again able to pick and choose from a large selection of cards posted on one of my trading websites.

This time, I found a near complete set of the 2013 Topps minis. These are just like the 2013 regular issue Topps cards, only smaller.

Here's a scan of the Jason Marquis, Jedd Gyorko RC, Andrew Cashner. Second Row - Carlos Quentin, Huston Street, Nick Hundley. Third Row - Dustin Moseley, Casey Kelly RC, Edinson Volquez.

 

I also got three 2012 Topps minis, consisting of Dustin Moseley, Jesus Guzman and Cameron Maybin.

Of the 2013, 22-card mini set, I'm now only missing five - the Ryan Bruan/Alfonso Soriano/Chase Headley (272), Cameron Maybin (324) Yasmani Grandal (438), Clayton Richard (491) and 653 Chase Headley (653).

 

I was also able to find a few new cards for my collection, to include this 2008 Upper Deck Documentary Jody Gerult, 2010 Topps Topps Town Gold Adrian Gonzalez, 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones Black Trevor Hoffman S/N 13/25, 2007 Topps Turkey Red Mike Camerson. 

 

If  you're interested in collecting all of those 2008 Topps Moments and Milestons Black Hoffman cards, you better make some room - There's 524 cards - one for each of Hoffman's career saves, and each one serial-numbered to 25.

 

I know I'm wanting to post more often as I begin my second year of "Bleedin' Brown and Gold," but I'm going to be out of town and away from my collection until Thursday. Hopefully, I can sate my card lust while I'm away, but I don't think I'll have much down time.

 

Bummer, again.

 

1st anniversary for "Bleedin' Brown and Gold"

Today, March 6, calls for a little celebration.

It was on this day last year that I first put fingers to the keyboard to type my first blog entry, "God help me, I'm a life-long Padres fan." That first little ditty earned me 20 pageviews and a total of two comments. I thought to myself, "Hey, at least, someone read this."

Since then, I have written 101 Posts, with 119 comments and 8,872 pageviews (all time history). I have also developed a total of 14 followers.

To quote Homer Simpson, "Whoo-hoo!"

The post with the most page views? it was the "Topps MLB ATTAX Showdown" (Oct. 25, 2013), with 319 pageviews, The next closest was "October Sports Card Forum Baseball Card Traders (Oct. 10, 2013), with 240 pageviews. The post eliciting the most comments was "Come and get your 1989 Topps Baseball Card Books," (Sept. 19, 2013) with seven comments, followed by "Local bid board boxes o'cards" (Jan. 26, 2014) with six comments. Even though baseball swims within a sea of statistics, let me quote Homer Simpson once again, "Oh, people can come up statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that." To be absolutely truthful, I wasn't sure I'd still be writing this blog one year later. I had more than a few worst-case scenarios plotted out -- No one would read it, I'd get bored with it and quit, work would get too busy to keep it up, or I'd get deployed again. And then there was the biggest question of them all -- Since I'm a single-team, San Diego Padres collector and blogger, how soon would it be before I run out of things to write. Thankfully, none of that has come in to play. In the meantime, I've met some great bloggers and made some great trades. With three local brick and mortar card shops, as well as a monthly card show, I have plenty of opportunities to help out my blogging brethren. Now, how can I make "Bleedin' Brown and Gold" an even better blog? 1) Post more often -- If I've posted 102 entries, then that's roughly one every three days. I can do better than that, I just need to be more consistent. 2) Find more traders -- I have a basic group of bloggers that I have no problem finding cards to sate their collecting desires. I have tons of cards of Marlins, Royals and O's, so I need to find others who are interested in those cards so I can unload them (thus making my wife happy). 3) Perhaps host a contest or two -- They're always fun, plus it couldn't help but boost my readership, right? 4) Reach out and touch other bloggers -- Who knows, maybe we can offer up an occasional group discussion about upcoming trends or facts about collecting and our personal collections. 5) Spoiler alert -- I'm looking to host a "Dirty Dozen Trading Challenge." Think you've got the stuff to complete this challenge? We'll see. In the meantime, keep tuning in. All in all, I've been very pleased with my blogging efforts, despite the fact there's always room for improvement. And, of course, I'm always open to suggestions. Until then, here's to a great year of blogging and, hopefully, many more to come.

Night Gallery revisited, Padres-style

I may be dating myself, but I remember when every Wednesday, like clockwork, NBC broadcasted Rod Serling's Night Gallery from 1970-73. Following his successful Twilight Zone series (and unsuccessful The Loner series), Serling produced more than a third of the scripts and Steven Spielberg even produced a couple of the segments.

Set in a dimly lit museum, Serling, who also served as the on-camera host, would introduce three tales of the macabre, unveiling canvases or sculptures that would appear in the subsequent story segments.

“Good evening, and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collector’s item in its own way — not because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a canvas, suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen," Serling would say, "to the Night Gallery."

While I enjoyed Night Gallery (not as much as the Twilight Zone, however) the concept of the show, as well as the introductions, proved to be quite interesting.

With that eerie tune from Night Gallery playing in the back of my mind, let me introduce you to a few of the more interesting items in my Padres collection.

Good evening art lovers. I'd like to take you on a conducted tour of this most bizarre little salon, this Collection de Duff, where you'll find the awesome, the esoteric, the unique.

Welcome to our exposition, where we present for your judicious contemplation a surrealistic manifestation of athletes involved in one of our most cleansing forms...Water. Water, one of the four elements in ancient teachings and which serves many esoteric purposes. Tonight we witness one of its most basic applications. You can boil it, freeze it or steam it. You can bathe in it, clean with it, and even drink it. 

In any case, for those of you who take their pleasures dancing around a whistling teakettle in solemn circumstance, we dedicate the following sports collectible, we call, "Tea with Tony and Benito."

Our Own Tea discs consisted of three panels, two with player pictures and one with advertising featuring "Two exciting baseball offers." There are only two Padres who have been featured on these discs, the 1987 Tony Gwynn and 1988 Benito Santiago discs pictured above. While Santiago was also featured on the 1989 version of the Our Own Tea discs, only 20 player discs were issued for each of those sets for each of those years.

Our second offering, is a small, little-known item, embellished in whites, browns and greens. Marsupials, an infraclass of mammals, live primarily in Austrailia. One distinctive characteristic, however, common to this particular species, is the fact the young are carried in a pouch. This rather unique little item is no different. Offered to you now is a bizarre little piece of cardboard, entitled "The Card-Supial."

When Pacific released its 1997 Pacific baseball set, inserted one in every 37 packs was either a regular-sized Card-Supial card, or a mini Card-Supial, measuring 1-1/4" x 1-3/4."  The minis and the regular cards shared the same action shot on the back  and are numbered "x" of 36. Each card front featured a gold-foil Pacific logo and the player’s name printed on the bottom edge. The team logo appears in the lower right corner.

 

The regular-sized cards also came with a pocket or "pouch" on the back, which the mini card would slide into.  Once the mini card finds its home in its pouch, the pictures on the two cards combine into one seamless shot. This is Tony Gwynn's mini Card-Supial, card number 35, the next-to-the-last card of the series.

 

Our final piece from tonight's tableau, is yet another unique item found within the realm of our anthology. Here, offered to the gourmet who takes home cooking seriously, features the debut of a brand new venue located within the environs of downtown San Diego. For those of you who enjoy the visual delights of the first day of baseball season, we offer this piece of heaven and earth, entitled, "Opening Day at Petco Park."

The last time we were in San Diego (Christmas 2011) we swung by the Padres gift shop at Petco Park and picked up a few souvenirs for ourselves, friends and family. As a result of spending X amount of dollars, we received, free at no cost, this display from the Highland Mint. As you can see, it safely made its way via the airlines back to Iowa.

 

Encased within the frame is a picture of Petco Park, a Padres coin (coins are a big deal to the military service member - remind me to show you my military coin collection sometime), a piece of infield dirt (lower left), a piece of baseball (upper right) and a piece from one of the bases (lower right), all from Opening Day and all authenticated. To top it all off, this piece is serial-numbered #20. It hangs above my desk at home, providing the carrot for our return to our West Coast "home."

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed your visit, to the Collection de Duff.